WASHINGTON TALK: STATE DEPARTMENT

By EDWIN McDOWELL, Special to the New York Times

Published: July 1, 1988

WASHINGTON—
It started out last year as a harmless sounding project: a book by American and Greek authors about the administration of Prime Minister Andreas Papandreou of Greece, edited and published by Greek-Americans. But now, two months before publication, the project has created a stir involving the State Department, the Greek Embassy and others associated with it.

The book, ''Greece Under Socialism: A NATO Ally Adrift,'' is scheduled for publication Aug. 30 by Aristide D. Caratzas, Publisher, of New Rochelle, N.Y. It was edited by Nikolaos A. Stavrou, a professor of international affairs and political science at Howard University.

Professor Stavrou and Mr. Caratzas accuse officials of the Papandreou administration of trying to censor a chapter in the book, of trying to intimidate them for refusing to withdraw the chapter and, in one case, of using a racial epithet. Friends in the Greek Government, Mr. Caratzas said, warned both him and Professor Stavrou that warrants would be issued for their arrest if either of them visited Greece.

While acknowledging that he had asked to have the controversial chapter withdrawn, George Papoulias, the Greek Ambassador to the United States, has called the broader accusations ''nonsense.'' Four Greek Contributors

Among the 14 contributors to the book are four Greeks. Matthew Nimetz, a former Under Secretary of State, wrote the introduction, and Robert Pranger, a former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for international security, contributed a chapter. But it is the essay of Yannis Kapsis, Deputy Secretary of Foreign Affairs in the Papandreou government, that stirred the controversy.

In response to an invitation from Professor Stavrou, Mr. Kapsis submitted an article last October on the philosophy and goals of Greek foreign policy. At that time the book's working title was ''PASOK in Power: A Critical Analysis of Its Domestic and Foreign Policies.'' PASOK is the acronym for Mr. Papandreou's governing party, the Panhellenic Socialist Movement.

While editing the manuscript, however, Professor Stavrou changed the title of the book to ''Greece Under Socialism: The Rise, Policies and Decline of Andreas Papandreou.'' When he finished editing it he changed the subtitle again to ''A NATO Ally Adrift,'' which he said more accurately reflects the book's contents.

But last December, when the book still bore the first subtitle - that is, ''The Rise, Policies and Decline of Andreas Papandreou'' - Ambassador Papoulias said in a letter to Professor Stavrou that Mr. Kapsis wished to withdraw his article. The reason, he said, was that the subtitle suggested ''a biased and unobjective context.'' A Question of Credibility

Professor Stavrou refused, saying that the project was already too far along and that any suggestion of bias and lack of objectivity ''touches upon my credibility as a scholar and upon the credibility of internationally known contributors.''

In an interview, Professor Stavrou, who was born in Greece but who has lived in the United States for more than 30 years and is an American citizen, said he would have withheld the article if Mr. Kapsis or Ambassador Papoulias had said only that they wished to withdraw it. ''But I couldn't withdraw it after they said the book is subjective, before they read a single line of it,'' the professor added.

Ambassador Papoulias said in a telephone interview that Mr. Kapsis contributed the article in good faith, and demurred after he learned that the planned subtitle talked about the ''decline'' of Mr. Papandreou.

''It's very improper for a high government official to be led to contribute to a book about the decline of the government he is serving,'' the Ambassador said. He also said he had talked by telephone with the publisher and the editor ''to try to make them understand it was unfair'' to include Mr. Kapsis's article in the book. Subtitle Changes Defended

Professor Stavrou said the subtitle under which the book would now be published was not chosen to mollify or accommodate the Greek Government, any more than the previous subtitle was intended to rile it.

''It is not unusual for a book to have one or more working titles right through the editing process,'' he said. ''And after I read the contributions in their entirety, it was clear that Papandreou is still popular, although the popularity of his party is declining. The new subtitle is meant to reflect the book's contents.''

Mr. Nimetz, the former State Department official, said he was unaware of any pressure from the Greek Government. ''No one has approached me in any way,'' he said. But he added that he did not find any of the book's essays particularly controversial. ''The book is an attempt to be descriptive, which is hard to do about a government that's still in power,'' he said, ''but I can't see much for anybody to object to.''

Robert Pranger, now a research fellow at the University of Maryland, also said the book was not polemical. ''It's a very straightforward book, not meant to excite,'' he said. Opponent of Greek Junta

Mr. Pranger added that he found the apparent animosity between Professor Stavrou and the Papandreou government ironic in view of past events. ''Stavrou in the '60's was an outspoken opponent of the Greek junta, like Papandreou,'' Mr. Pranger said. ''When I went to Greece in '81 and met Papandreou before the election, Nick set up the meeting.''

Mr. Caratzas, the Greek-born publisher of the book, charged that he and Professor Stavrou ''have been subjected to improper and inordinate pressure by the Papandreou government.'' The warning not to come to Greece, for instance, was made by Mr. Kapsis himself, among others, Mr. Caratzas said.

''The Ambassador referred to me as hostile to the democratically elected Greek Government,'' Mr. Caratzas said. ''I wrote to him and said that publishing a book critical in parts of a government doesn't mean that we are enemies.''

Ambassador Papoulias, while saying that Mr. Kapsis was within his rights in asking to withdraw his essay from the book, denied that his Government had tried to harass or intimidate Mr. Stavrou or Mr. Caratzas. ''Mr. Kapsis reserves his rights according to existing legislation in the U.S. or Greece,'' the Ambassador said. ''But that is not a threat - that's his right under the law.'' Racial Slur Protested

The racial incident came about last December when a member of the Greek Embassy press office staff reportedly denounced Professor Stavrou in a gathering, saying: ''Mr. Stavrou - he cannot write books, he can only teach niggers at a most mediocre university.''

Howard University, where Professor Stavrou has taught for two decades, is a predominantly black educational institution. In a letter of protest to Ambassador Papoulias, the chairman of Howard's department of political science, Hilbourne A. Watson, noted that he had learned ''personally'' of the denunciation and said he was ''strongly opposed'' to such an attack on Professor Stavrou.

Meanwhile, Professor Stavrou left this week for the Balkans, including Greece. His visit to his homeland is partly business, he said, because a Greek publisher is negotiating to publish the book. ''But I also intend to test this threat,'' he added. ''I do not intend to let a government harass or intimidate me.''

The State Department has cabled the United States Embassy in Athens to look after Professor Stavrou.